Jamie gets closure....and an Oscar!
Boston's own beloved screenwriter goes to his old stomping grounds, La la land, and puts a chapter of his life behind him. When Jamie Minzell goes to Los Angeles with his family and some of the Harpers to accept an Oscar for screenwriting, he sees a nasty former movie producer with his former sister in-law, Julia. Jamie swallows his fear and bravely confronts him and Julia over what they did to him and his late husband! Scene One The setting is NOT Boston, but Los Angeles, California. Jamie Minzell is walking down the hall towards the terminal of LAX. With him is his family. His brother, Jeff; his sister, Anngelique and his boyfriend, AJ. Also with them are his new friends Dylan Harper, his spouse, Adam, Dylan's twin cousin, Sheila, her husband, Allen and their lawyer, Derick Steensland. They are all together to celebrate Jamie winning an Oscar for screenwriting. JAMIE: Thanks you guys for coming with me. SHEILA (kindly): Our pleasure, Jamie. DYLAN: Not a problem. We haven't been to Los Angeles in a long time. It was quite overdue. ADAM: And we've been due for a vacation without the kids. (Adam plays Groucho leering at his spouse) DYLAN (grinning): Easy, Tiger, we're in mixed company! (Everyone laughs) AJ: Who is watching Derek and Ashley by the way? SHEILA: I talked with Uncle Mike and Aunt Wendy. They were only too glad to watch them. Catherine is over there with them too. JAMIE (uneasily): I am hoping that we don't stay here for way too long. This place has too many bad memories for me. ANNGELIQUE (gently): I know, honey. But it was imperative that we come here. (A menacing producer glares at him. Jamie starts to quiver. Dylan instantly senses the problem and instantly takes command.) DYLAN (in the clipped reserved voice he uses for those who he is not associated with): Excuse me, sir, but may we help you? PRODUCER: Are you Dylan Harper? DYLAN (in the same reserved voice): Yes, I am. Although I have NEVER met you! PRODUCER: I am George Lawrence, a producer at Fox. DYLAN (definitely not impressed now): Excuse me, but I am not interested. We are in quite a hurry. GEORGE: I need to speak to Jamie Minzell. DYLAN (suspicious): How do you know him? GEORGE: That is for me to know and you NOT to know. DYLAN (glaring at him): Tread carefully, sir. You know not who you are messing with! DERICK (stepping up): Jamie and Dylan are my clients, Neither of them do not have to speak to you. JEFF (angered): What you have to say to my brother, you can say to us! (George is stymied, he leaves quickly. Jeff sees George going over to someone he is familiar with. Jeff's jaw drops!) ANNGELIQUE: What's wrong, Jeff? JEFF: George Lawrence is with JULIA! ANNGELIQUE: Julia?! Julia Barsumian?! Your former wife?! Boy, that slut didn't think twice before going right to her next conquest! JEFF: Yeah, the ink hadn't even been dry on the divorce papers! The amoral tramp! JAMIE (bucking up): He hates me, but I am going to go speak with him. JEFF: Be careful, pal. We're here if you need us. JAMIE: I will. (Jamie walks up with bravery) GEORGE: Well, glad to see you had a change of heart and a bit of sensibility! JAMIE (in disgust): Can it, George! I don't trust you as far as I can throw you! You throw your money and weight around Los Angeles and think everyone has to bow and scrape to you! You do not fool me, and I think your attempt to butter up Dylan Harper was totally beyond disgusting! I know what you did! GEORGE: How did you guess what I did! JAMIE: I may be sensitive and caring, but I am not as stupid and hopelessly innocent as you seem to think I am! I am not the same naïve star struck wannabe writer that I was years ago. I have earned my dues, something you have no concept of! You and that tramp daughter of yours were sneaking around my condo in West Hollywood! And it was YOU, Julia, my own sister in-law who let them in and attack me and my husband! Craig is dead! DEAD! Thanks to you and your slut of a daughter, Nadia! (Everyone is shocked) JEFF (horrified): Julia?! You did THAT?! JULIA (nastily): Shut up, Jeff! JEFF: No, I will not! You had a hand in killing Craig?! JULIA (smugly): Yes, I did! I hated him, and I hate you! JAMIE (in a rare burst of spirit): You know what, you tramp?! Jeff was too good for you! He was ALWAYS too good for you. He is BETTER off away from you! And as for YOU, George Lawrence, I will see to it that you will SUFFER for what you did to me and my family! I hope you are locked away for the rest of your god-forsaken and miserable life! No wonder your wife finally wised up, left your sorry backside, and checked herself into Betty Ford! And no wonder your daughter was such a harridan as she was! I hope her marriage to Max Lauris is what satisfies her! GEORGE: I wanted you destroyed! When I killed your husband..... (George stops knowing he finally said WAY too much) DYLAN (his eyes burning a hole in George's soul): You killed Jamie's husband?! SHEILA (rasping): You MONSTER! JAMIE: It WAS you! YOU BASTARD!!!! You rotten BASTARD!!!!! You KILLED Craig! (Jamie struggles as he wants to hurt George Lawrence) AJ (softly): No, honey, you'll get locked up! DYLAN (pleading): Don't, Jamie. It won't do you any good. He's not worth going to jail for. JAMIE (sobbing): He can't get away with it. ANNGELIQUE (softly): And he won't, sweetie, I will make sure of that right now! (She then angrily advances on George and Julia. She rears back and slaps her ex-sister in law in the face, and then in one swift motion, slaps George in the face) GEORGE: What was THAT for?! ANNGELIQUE (coldly): For messing with the Minzell family! You lost, fools! NOW, we're EVEN! (She and the others storm away. Julia is rubbing her face; George is humiliated!) Scene Two A few hours later. Jamie was fully recovered from his experience with George and Julia. The entire crew are enjoying the sights of Los Angeles. They went to the Bonaventure Hotel, where the Harpers are known by name. They were instantly booked into their rooms there. There were two rooms; Jamie, AJ; Dylan, Allen; Derick; and Adam have a suite of rooms; Anngelique and Sheila share a room inside the suite. The rooms are interconnected. That evening, they are headed to the Kodak Theater for the Academy Awards. DYLAN: That dress is YOU, Sheila, dear. SHEILA: Thank you, honey. Allen thinks so too. You look awesome in that tux. DYLAN: Thank you as well, dear. SHEILA: The thing is, I have never been to the Academy Awards. DYLAN: Neither have I. Until now. DERICK: What energy here, even more so than New York. JAMIE: Yeah, the energy here is high voltage. Which was one of the reasons I moved here before. DERICK: Do you know any of the stars? JAMIE: I've met some, Derick. I don't know too many of them personally if that is what you meant. That is not very common, since I usually talk with them through their idiotic agents. Usually when they came, it was to talk with me about how their parts were written. Some of them can be very overdramatic, but others of them are very nice. Mostly, they are the same as you and me. ANNGELIQUE: Once when I was out here visiting with him, we went and met Anna Paquin! JAMIE (grinning): She actually came over while Anngie and I were eating at Spago's! She asked me about how her character was written. One of the lesser writers really savaged her charcter; so I had to clean it up for her. JEFF (his pride for his brother evident): Even Clint Eastwood spoke highly of Jamie's talent. JAMIE (quietly): He said, and I quote, "You've got a definite talent. Your writing comes to life on the page." SHEILA: That is praise indeed! One question, Jamie, do you write specifically for one studio, or more accurately, did you? JAMIE (with the knowledge of what he does): Not really, Sheila. I would write scripts and whatever studio was interested in my story, that specific studio would get first crack at it. I would usually write for MGM, but sometimes other studios would be interested. The screenplay I wrote that I am nominated for was bought by Paramount. DERICK: What is the name of the movie you wrote? JAMIE (with a note of pride): It's called "Some Loves Aren't Forever". SHEILA: I remember that movie. One of my favorites. YOU wrote it? JAMIE (blushing): Yep, I did. SHEILA: Allen and I went to see it. Kate Winslett was fantastic in it. So was Hugh Grant. JAMIE (grinning): I will let them know you said that. SHEILA: Thank you. I appreciate that. DYLAN: That idiot we saw at the airport, he said he worked for Fox? JAMIE: More like he used to, Dyl. He was fired from Fox some years ago, and no other studio will ever touch him now. DERICK: You mean they blackballed him? JAMIE (shyly): Kind of. You see, Derick, nobody in the industry will ever say there is a blacklist, but there is. It's kind of a hidden secret. George Lawrence tried to have me blacklisted, but he failed, when it was revealed what he had done. SHEILA: How many times have you been nominated for an Oscar? JAMIE: I've been nominated about seven times in my whole career. Which is not too bad. Winning an Oscar was a dream that Craig and I had aimed for, for quite a long time. This is the biggest chance I have to finally win that elusive Oscar. ANNGELIQUE: Jamie is a very good screen writer, and has been due for some time. AJ: Yeah, my sweetie's writing is well known, all over the world. JAMIE (grinning at his boyfriend): Tooting my horn for me?! AJ (laughing): Always! (AJ kisses Jamie, provoking a blush) ANNGELIQUE (sardonically): I think he gets the hint, Johnny Boy! AJ: I know he does, Minz, but it's time we go to the Awards ceremony. The limo is outside. (Everyone is dressed in their best, and they are on their way to the Academy Awards. Allen escorts Sheila; AJ escorting Jamie; Adam escorts Dylan; Anngelique is escorted by Derick and Jeff.) Cut to Several hours later, they are back at the hotel room. Jamie is THRILLED. He is holding an Oscar for best screenplay. He had finally won the coveted award. SHEILA (pleased): Absolutely beautiful! DYLAN (not a lot impresses him, but he was completely awestruck): What glitter! What pomp! I wonder if Mom and Dad saw us? SHEILA: I am sure they did, dear. JAMIE (enthused): Yahoo! What a way to top off a stellar career. Now, to retire! DERICK (softly): That was a moving speech to your late husband. AJ: I was nearly in tears. ANNGELIQUE: I was too. I can't believe I am agreeing with you, Johnny Boy, but I was in tears too. AJ: You're a softie, Minz, admit it. ANNGELIQUE: Only because Jamie is my brother! AJ: And my lover! (The two glare at one another, but Jeff steps in and diffuses it) JEFF (firmly but calmly): Quit it, you two. This is Jamie's night. SHEILA: That's right. You two can fight and argue at a later date. This is Jamie's night to shine. (Anngelique and AJ comply, but not without shooting daggers at one another.) JEFF: At the after party, it was a shocker to see Rita Moreno come up to you, like she would see you in a store or something. JAMIE (blushing with a bit of pride): We've worked together before. She did a one woman show using her Electric Company characters, and had me write the show for her. She and I had a laugh over her director character. SHEILA: I saw that. You did a fantastic job of it. She is one of my favorites. She always was. DYLAN: Remember when we watched her on The Electric Company when we were kids? She was one of the gems of that show. And all those characters. The little girl; the director. She is a gem. SHEILA: She was my favorite. ANNGELIQUE: She actually called Jamie by name. JAMIE (shyly): She actually told me that I would be missed around LA. ANNGELIQUE: That was something. Everyone there was trying to talk you out of retiring. SHEILA: And she was so nice! DERICK: Yeah, she and her daughter, Fernanda, were at the Oscars. DYLAN: She looked AMAZING! JAMIE: Yes she does. And she is so accomplished. ALLEN: It was like everyone who was anyone was there. ANNGELIQUE: Yes it was a wild party and a great time! Now, we go back to Boston. JAMIE: Where I will now retire and live with AJ for the rest of my life, but not before I do something that needs to be done. Cut to The next day at the Hollywood Hills Cemetery, a famous final resting place for the rich and famous. It is morning, and the sun was rising from the east. Everyone was around a stone. Craig's stone is in the middle of the area with Jamie holding some fresh flowers. Dylan, Sheila, Derick, Adam and Allen are standing away while Jamie, Jeff, Anngelique and AJ say good bye. JEFF: I wish it didn't end the way it did, Craig, with you paying the ultimate price because of the jealousy of a washed up producer and my snobbish bitch of an ex-wife. But there is some good news, some good that did come out of this tragedy. George's loud airport confession would end up hanging him and Julia. The fact that they shouted what they did in the middle of the LAX terminal did them in even worse. Both of them went to prison. George got life in prison for murder. So did Julia. She is at the Central California Womens Prison; George went to San Quentin! Nadia and Max, who were also in it, got 25 to life in prison for conspiracy. Nadia joined Julia at Central California; Max also went to San Quentin. They will not hurt us anymore! Rest in peace, dear brother in-law. JAMIE: I know you are in a safe place now, my dear precious Craig. But I know that we are to move on, and get on with our lives. I got the condo sold, with Anngie and Derick's help. Got a good going price on it, $1.5 million, which isn't bad for our condo in West Hollywood. The money will really help, now that I am retiring from screenwriting. We finally did it, though, babe. I finally got that elusive Oscar! Best Screenplay, "Some Loves Aren't Forever". That was something you and I had long aimed for, even when we first moved our snowy selves here to LA all those years ago. I dedicated it to you, honey. While you will always be in my heart, you are now gone. I fell for AJ! Yes, AJ, your former brother in-law. He and I are together now. You are my past, AJ is my future. While you are always gonna be a part of my memories, it is also time to make new memories, with AJ. AJ: Craig, I make this solemn promise to you. I already promised Anngie I would do this, and now I will make that same pledge to you. I promise to you that I will take good care of Jamie all the rest of my life. I know how you loved him. Your love for him was pure and sweet. You two were the best looking guys in the complex in West Hollywood. And those guys were GREEN when they saw you two! You and Jamie ruled that complex. Now, Jamie is going to be safe, with me, his family and his friends. Friends who LOVE him. ANNGELIQUE: Craig, I miss you more than anything, honey. Jamie truly loved you and you made him so very happy. While I am not sure of what could happen between him and AJ, I am optimistic, and that is something unusual for ol' Anngelique, and you know me all too well about that, that things will be well with Jamie and AJ. I know how much AJ adores Jamie, and how much Jamie adores him. They truly ARE in love. It's the real thing, same as what it was with you and Jamie. Jamie feels safe with him; and AJ provides the safety he needs. Rest in peace, my darling brother in-law. Jamie is in very good hands, with AJ. (She then looks at AJ) AJ: What do you want, Anngie? ANNGELIQUE (seriously, unusual for her): I have seen how you are with Jamie. Even I have noticed and ol' Anngelique can't even miss it. When we were married, I knew you wanted to protect Jamie from all the bad that he had been through. You wanted to protect him from every bad thing that ever happened to him. You showed that you cared for him. Now Craig is gone, and I see how much adoration Jamie has for you. And the love you have for him, it is very much undeniable. It's a special and sweet kind of love. Now, I know you and I hate one another. We slam one another, insult one another and scream and yell at one another. I call you "Johnny Boy" and you call me "Minzell the Mouth" or even "Minz". I can live with that, because our relationship is based on combat. But you have made it clear that you are wanting to make my baby brother happy. Jeff has already approved of it. And I am gonna approve it myself. AJ: Thank you, Anngie. ANNGELIQUE (arching her eyebrow): We still have our combative relationship, though. AJ (smirking): I wouldn't have it any other way, Minz! ANNGELIQUE (smirking back at him): Glad to hear it, Johnny Boy! (Everyone laughs, even Jamie. He hugs AJ and then hugs his sister) JAMIE: Thank you, Anngie. I love you both. ANNGELIQUE: Your happiness is all that matters to us, sweetie. AJ: That's right, angel. JEFF: Finally, peace reigns supreme! (He hugs his family.) JAMIE: Hey, come on over, you guys. (Dylan, Derick; Adam, Sheila and Allen come over and join the hug.) Epilogue Five days later, back in Boston. It is evening and back in the condo, Jamie looks at a picture that he had taken with Craig a couple of weeks before he died. They had gone to a performance of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra at the Hollywood Ampitheater. It was the last performance they would see as a couple before the fateful home invasion that would savagely take Craig from him. He is glad that it is finally finished, with the conspirators of that murderous rampage finally imprisoned for the remainder of their lives. He removes it from the mantel and after a final kiss to his late spouse, takes it to the closet and puts it away for good. '' ''He then looks at a new picture. It was of him and AJ taken by Anngelique on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, where the group went shopping. They had just gotten out of Giorgio's and had a fabulous time. After they said their farewells to Craig, Jamie showed AJ, Jeff, Anngelique and the others the fun of what LA had to offer. They shopped on Rodeo Drive; also taking some time to visit some used bookstores around Melrose Boulevard; and also had a wonderful lunch at Spago's. It was a tonic to him and it also helped him say goodbye to the West Coast and the life he had there, and to begin his retirement. '' ''He places the new picture on the mantel. He looks at his Oscar, which is the pinnacle of a spectacular writing career that was capped in the end. He puts the statuette next to the new picture. AJ comes out, and puts his arm around his Jamie. Jamie hugs AJ and feels the love between him and his new love. Then the two go to their bedroom. The scene fades. Category:Episodes Category:Hall of Fame Episodes Category:Episodes featuring Dylan and Sheila Category:Episodes featuring Anngelique Minzell